BOSTON, MA―Registration is now open for the 33rd annual AIDS Walk & Run Boston, which will take place Sunday, June 3, 2018. The event regularly draws thousands of participants, making it the region’s largest HIV/AIDS public awareness event. The Walk is approximately 5.8 miles and the 5K Run is a competitive, timed event fully sanctioned by the USA Track & Field Association.
The Walk will begin and end at the corner of Charles and Beacon streets on the Boston Common. The Run will start and end at the nearby DCR Hatch Shell. Registration and check-in for both events will take place on the Boston Common beginning at 7:30 a.m. The Run begins at 9:50 a.m. and the Walk sets off at 10 a.m. The event will feature a speaking program, emceed by WCVB Channel 5’s Randy Price, awards, and entertainment. A free Wellness Festival, presented by Whole Foods Market, will also take place on the Common from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Participants can register for the AIDS Walk & Run Boston at www.aidswalkboston.org. There is neither a registration fee nor a minimum fundraising requirement to participate in the Walk. There is a $35 registration fee for the 5K Run. Before the Walk begins, AIDS Action will present the Bette Byrnes Award, which recognizes an individual or group that goes above and beyond to promote HIV/AIDS education and awareness within the community, with special consideration given to those promoting sexual health within youth groups. The award is named for a longtime supporter of AIDS Action Committee and a top fundraiser for AIDS Walk & Run Boston until her passing last year.
“We’ve made great progress toward the goal of zero new HIV infections in Massachusetts, but anticipated state and federal funding cuts to services for the most vulnerable among us threaten to undo those gains,” said AIDS Action Executive Director Carl Sciortino. “The same is true of state and federal health care policy. Transgender women, for example, have some of the highest HIV rates and yet we’re facing a ballot initiative in the Commonwealth that would enable discrimination against them in the healthcare setting. Likewise, the Trump administration recently announced plans to roll back a rule preventing discrimination against transgender people by health insurers and care providers. The money and public awareness raised by AIDS Walk & Run Boston are critical countermeasures to whatever funding cuts and policy changes may come our way.”
Corporate sponsors of this year’s AIDS Walk & Run Boston include Macy’s, Whole Foods Market, American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Eastern Bank, Gilead, Pfizer, Partners Healthcare, Patriot Care, Abt Associates, Planned Parenthood League of MA, Walgreens, ViiV Healthcare, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Joint Ventures Physical Therapy and Fitness, Dunkin’ Donuts, JetBlue, WCVB Channel 5, Kiss 108, Jam’n 94.5, 101.7 The Bull, EDGE Media Network, and Yelp.
Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact Jonathan Potvin at 857.313.6733 or jpotvin@fenwayhealth.org for additional information.
AIDS Action will support AIDS Walk & Run Boston with a robust social media outreach and fundraising plan. Walkers can fundraise through their personal AIDS Walk Boston pages, Facebook, and Twitter.
Follow @AIDSWalkBoston and the hashtag #AIDSWALKBOSTON for information about HIV/AIDS and the AIDS Walk & Run Boston.
[From a News Release]
